Luke

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LUQA (Luke)

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Chapter 1 1. Seeing that many have taken in hand to compose an orderly narrative of the things that have been carried through to fulfillment among us, 2. considering the fact that those who from the beginning were given to be eyewitnesses and servants assisting the Word committed them to us, 3. it seemed appropriate to me likewise, having accurately followed all [these] things since the beginning, to write them to you in succession, O most illustrious lover of YHWH, 4. so that you might become thoroughly acquainted with how solid the [truthfulness is of the] teachings in which you have been instructed orally. 5. In the days of Herodus the king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zekharyah, who belonged to Aviyah's course of duty1. And his wife was from the daughters of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva. Elisheva: Gk., "Elisabeth", also the LXX transliteration of Elisheva in Ex. 6:23. It means "Elohim made an oath". Her husband's name (Zekharyah) means "YHWH remembers". Put together, their offspring is a beautiful picture of Elohim's faithfulness to His promise. The "rotation or class of the priests' service at the Temple, as distributed by families" (Strong), according to the 24 divisions that David had set up (Zodhiates, Thayer; cf. 1 Chron. 24:4ff; 2 Chron. 8:14). Each division discharged its duties for a whole week, and the courses ran twice a year. Aviyah's position was eighth (1 Chron. 24:10), but his descendants served on the tenth week of the first cycle since all of the divisions served on the third week (Feast of Unleavened Bread) and the ninth (Shavuoth). In regard to the significance of the timing, see note on v. 13. (J. Good) 6. And they were both righteous in the sight of Elohim, adhering blamelessly to all the commandments and right-rulings of YHWH. 7. Yet they did not have [any] offspring, because Elisheva was sterile, and they were both far along in days. 8. But it came about that while he was performing his priestly functions before Elohim in the order of his division, 9. according to the prescribed custom of the priestly office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the Temple of YHWH, 10. and the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11. Now an angel of YHWH appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12. And when he saw him, Zekharyah was troubled, and fear pressed in on him. 13. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zekharyah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Yochanan. Yochanan: Short form of Yehochanan, which means "YHWH has been gracious" or "shown favor". Allowing for Elisheva's two weeks of purification, the normal gestation period would bring us to Passover. Interestingly, this is the time when Jewish people to this day expect the Eliyahu of promise (Mal. 4:5) to appear, and Y’shua said that Yochanan fulfilled this at least partially (Mat. 11:10; cf. v. 17 here). Your prayer: The specific prayer he would have been praying asks for … 14. "And to you he will be the occasion of joy and extreme gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth, 15. "because he will be eminent in the sight of YHWH, but by no means may he drink wine or an intoxicating beverage, but he will be filled with the Spirit of Holiness all the way from his mother’s womb. 16. "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back toward YHWH their Elohim. 17. "That is, he will precede Him in the spirit and power of Eliyahu, 'to return the hearts of fathers to [their] children', even noncompliant ones with the wisdom of the righteous, to get ready a people who have become prepared for YHWH. ... 26. Now in the sixth month the angel Gavriel was sent by Elohim into a city of the Galil named Natzereth This would bring them to the time of Chanukkah. (See notes 9, 11.) Nine months would bring her to the festival of Sukkoth (note on 2:7). 27. to a virgin who had been betrothed [Mat. 1:18] to a man named Yoseyf; now the virgin's name was Miryam. Miryam means "rebel". Not that she herself was a rebel, but her name correlates with the promise that the seed of the woman who was responsible for man's fall would provide the very solution (Gen. 3:15), highlighted here as Miryam conceives without the aid of a man. (A woman normally has no seed except as given by her husband.) This redemption is pictured in the Jewish liturgy as a woman is always the one to light the candles of the Sabbath, which pictures the light being restored to mankind through the seed of the rebellious woman. PAGE STILL BEING BUILT ... Thank you for your patience.
Chapter 2 Right: The "Shepherds' Fields" near Beth Lechem. 7. There was no room for them in the inn. The registration (v. 1) would be implemented only over a period of several months due to the difficulties of travel and to allow all the citizens to harvest their crops before being required to pay taxes; thus Beyth-Lechem would not have been overcrowded for that reason alone. As a suburb of Yerushalayim, however, it would overflow with people during the three pilgrim festivals, of which Sukkoth was one. Yoseyf, needing to go to Yerushalayim for the festival, would probably have saved an extra trip by reporting for the census in nearby Beyth-Lechem at the same time. (J. Good) 8. And in the same region1 there were shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping guard over their flocks by night. Micha 4:8 identifies the place where "it would happen" as Migdal Eder, the "Tower of the Flock", toward Rachel's tomb (Gen. 35:16), between Beyth-Lechem and Yerushalayim. The Mishnah identifies this tower as the outermost boundary of a circle encompassing Yerushalayim within which all Passover lambs had to be born. Thus Y’shua, to qualify as Messiah, the Lamb of Elohim who would be the fulfillment of Passover (1 Kor. 5:7), could not have been born in Natzereth. Thus it becomes clear why the angels first announced His birth to these shepherds in particular. They were the ones raising the Passover lambs, and thus were the first to know that the fulfillment of the picture they were living out for their whole lives was soon to be fulfilled! The flocks were brought out after the spring rains and kept there until the late fall, when the weather would become bitterly cold and the latter rains would begin. Thus this could not have taken place in late December. (Ben-David) Copious other evidence points to Y’shua's birth being during the feast of Sukkoth, which falls in early autumn. (See notes on v. 7, 10, 12) The prayer welcoming the Sabbath (a complementary picture of the Kingdom along with Sukkoth) ties its light and the resurrection of its inhabitants to the "hour of the Beyth-Lechemite's birth". (L'cha Dodi) … 10. And the angel told them, "Don't be afraid, for, behold! I am announcing to you good news, a great joy, which shall be for all the people— Great joy: The festivals of Passover, Shavuoth, and Sukkoth are called the "joyful festivals" as opposed to the solemn ones, but Sukkoth is called the "Season of Our Joy", marking it as the time of supreme joy. The ninth day of the festival is called the day of "Joy in the Torah", a time of great festivity and dancing, but in the days when the Temple still stood it was celebrated on the eighth day. Y’shua is the "Torah made flesh", and His flesh was circumcised on the eighth day. All the people: Sukkoth is also called the "Festival of the Nations" since a total of 70 animals are sacrificed throughout its eight days. Jewish sages have regarded this as a petition for the redemption of all nations since Deut. 32:8 links the number of the sons of Yaaqov (70 in Ex. 1:1-5) with the boundaries and inheritance of the nations. 11. because today a Savior, who is Messiah the master, was born for you in David's hometown! 12. And this is a sign for you: you will find an infant swathed in strips of cloth, lying in a fodder-crib for animals. Strips of cloth: This was a common custom for infants. The only time it would be a sign is at Sukkoth, when the used garments of the priests were torn into strips and soaked in oil to act as wicks for the four great lights in the Temple (only at Sukkoth), which constituted what was known as "the Light of the World". On a later Sukkoth, Y’shua said that this title represented Himself. (Yoch. 8:12) Fodder-crib: The animals would undoubtedly be sheltered in a stable like the ones Yaaqov built for his flocks, which in Hebrew are called sukkoth (Gen. 33:17), another indication of the correlation with this festival by the same name. … 21. And when the eight days marking the appointed time to circumcise the child had been concluded, He was given the name Y’shua, as prescribed by the angel prior to the time He was conceived in His mother's womb. The eighth day in Scripture always symbolizes a new beginning after a complete cycle of seven. The eighth day of Sukkoth is called "the eighth conclusion", encore, or affectionate farewell. Y’shua was thus saying “farewell” to His fleshly life and fully taking His place as a son of Israel.





The Garden Tomb Yerushalayim